Iran Blames Israel for Sabotage of Oil Tankers

ICEJ News Briefs

Iranian officials have attempted to cast blame on Israel for sabotage attacks against Saudi and UAE flagged oil tankers earlier this week. "The events that took place in the Emirates were Israeli mischief," Iranian parliamentary spokesman Behrouz Nemati said on Tuesday, without citing any evidence or explaining any reasons why the Iranian government believes so. His remarks came a day after an anonymous US official blamed Iranian agents for the sabotage attacks. Meanwhile, Reports emerged on Tuesday morning that senior US officials are reviewing plans for the possible deployment of up to 120,000 military personnel along with ships, aircraft and vehicles to the Middle East in the event of an outbreak of hostilities with Iran.

“That the goal of the action has been to paralyze the Emirates economy is not at all unthinkable and very possible,” Thina Seltvedt, an oil analyst at Nordea Markets, told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. Later on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia accused Iranian-backed Houthi factions in Yemen of launching missile and drone attacks on an oil pipeline used by statte-run Saudi Aramco.

Finally, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi in Tuesday for meetings with his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Issues related to Iran are scheduled to be at the top of their agenda.

Gaza Border Situation Remains Tense

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov was in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip Monday, telling reporters that “the risk of war remains imminent. We have perhaps the last chance to consolidate the understandings that have been reached [between Israel and Hamas] and to make sure that the situation avoids another escalation. The next escalation is going to be probably the last one. I know that last weekend we got the closest we have ever been to another full war. Everyone is extremely nervous; everyone in the situation is very fragile.”

“I want to send a clear message to those in the past year who have tried to disrupt the ceasefire discussions. I want to tell them very clearly that if this calm is now disrupted, they will bear the responsibility for what happens after. If we are to save Gaza from another war…we must do everything we can right now to consolidate the peace and the quiet and the understandings…our ultimate goal remains the lifting of the closures on Gaza, and the return of the unity between Gaza and the West Bank under a single democratic and legitimate Palestinian government.”

The statements follow a large infusion of cash, and the promise of much more, into the hands of Gaza residents from the Gulf Emirate of Qatar. In related news, the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced plans to build protective barriers to protect vehicles travelling along roads close to the Strip from missile and small arms fire while the US Embassy in Jerusalem issued a warning that Palestinian terror factions may carry out attacks on Wednesday to coincide with “Nakba Day” events.

Netanyahu’s Lawyers Announce Readiness for Hearing

Attorneys for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement on Tuesday that he would like to request a date for a pre-indictment hearing with Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit in the three cases against him involving accusations of corruption. The announcement was a surprise to many legal analysts following several weeks in which Netanyahu’s lawyers had refused to set a date, citing a dispute with the Prime Minister over payment of their legal fees.